Tomorrow (January 18th) would be the 235th birthday of Peter Roget, the physician / theologian / lexicographer who compiled the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. It was published in 1852 and went through twenty-eight editions in his lifetime. (He died in 1869) (The Christian Almanac, p. 47).

Thank you, Mr. Roget. I love words and I love your Thesaurus!

Want to find out about more interesting facts about January. Check out the January ’14 Freelance Writers Almanac post on my writer blog. It’s my plan to post an almanac post on the first day of each month this year.

Violet, I always admire your words/poems, but this time you are writing about words! Very special, and the painting, too. I am not a huge art person, but I don’t know this artist-beautiful scene. It reminds me a little of Edward Hopper’s work. Also, I just read a post from Jen Bryant, whose recent picture book is A Splash of Red (about Horace Pippin). She shared that her next book coming out (this fall perhaps?) is about Roget, about his gift to the world, the Thesaurus! I thought that was so great, & then you tell us about his birthday. Thought you’d enjoy knowing!

This rhythm of this poem feels so perfect in my mouth. I can’t even imagine trying to get these words so exactly perfect. And then that last stanza- such a terrific comparison. I don’t kow Colville, I want to go looking for more of his work.

You sure do know how to knock my socks off, Violet! The lines, “in the speech cloud above my head/the thought bubble above yours” are brilliant. Thank you for celebrating Mr. Roget and the power of words.